


platinum under a night sky

by thirdlawofmotion



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, POV Alternating, POV Second Person, let ako say frick, sayo is an epic gamer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2020-05-19 13:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19358005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirdlawofmotion/pseuds/thirdlawofmotion
Summary: one story, told in two ways.or, how two dorks help each other grind their charisma stat.(read odd chapters for rinko pov, read even chapters for sayo pov)





	1. platinum

**Author's Note:**

> you might have noticed that the title of the work is a reference to rinko and sayo's surnames. if you think that's the case, then you're absolutely right. this is peak creativity and it's totally not because i can't think of titles or anything

You let the last few notes from your piano ring out.  
  
Just like that, practice ends. Yukina congratulates everyone on their performance. Good job, and make sure to be here this Saturday. Same as usual.

You look around to the rest of your bandmates. Lisa seems to be teasing Yukina about something. Yukina blushes and denies allegations. Ako comes up to you excitedly. She says she wants to run the dungeon that came out this update. Some developer didn’t account for the disgusting amount of XP it gave, and she wanted to gain as much levels as possible before it got patched. You gladly oblige. You heard about it during one of the breaks, though you didn’t think the XP rates were  this high.

A lock of turquoise hair steals away your attention for a moment.

Sayo curtly says goodbye to the group. The usual polite nothings. Good work, nice job today, see you soon. Not much compared to what you see Arisa’s band do, but at the very least it’s progress. Back then she wouldn’t even look the other band members in the eye unless it was to scold them. Ako especially had been on the receiving end of that stick.

You begin to wonder if maybe you could progress too. 

 

* * *

 

As a certified nerd, you are well versed in the field of literature. Concepts such as character development, internal struggle, and plot driving which you think are probably alien to some B-list authors come easily to you. Your own life has two of the three. Or at least you think.

You’d also like to think that the third would come in due time.

To be fair, you’ve been improving quite a lot, yourself. Just last year you were unable to even talk to people that weren’t Ako. And while Ako was and still continues to be very helpful as a guide in your journey of self-discovery, you find that the more people you talk to, the more confident you become. It cycles into talking to more people again. You view it as some sort of positive feedback loop.

Maybe it’s not just the quantity of relationships you have. Maybe it’s the quality that matters too. You consider this thought for a moment while booting up your PC, and store it away in the “stuff to think about late at night” compartment.

Ako, on the other hand, messages you.

**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx: ** rinrin!!!  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx: ** r u there  
 **rinrin: ** yeah, give me a second _(:3  」∠ )_

You log into NFO and immediately receive a party invite from Ako.

**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx: ** alright gamers lets get this bread  
 **rinrin: ** let’s obtain this grain?  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx: ** lets feast on this yeast

And so you stay up on a cool Friday night, as you always do, grinding XP and gold.

There’s something about MMOs that appeal to you. Maybe it’s the constant feeling of progress you get when you do literally anything. Maybe it’s the collaborative effort that you can participate in. Maybe, just maybe,

**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx: ** crap can i get a revive  
 **rinrin: ** omw. i thought you said your glass cannon necromancer build was viable? ^^  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx: ** shut

it’s just the fun of being with friends and doing stuff.

  

* * *

 

 

You continue grinding until you level up twice, which is a pretty big deal for someone almost at the level cap. You aren’t sure what you’ll do once you max out your character, though. Of course you’d still keep your main account, but maybe you’d smurf and play as a physical damage class this time around.

Either that or you could help Sayo. She’s been playing NFO a lot more recently, and you did need a tank for most endgame raids. Playing with someone you knew was better than queuing with some random who doesn’t know what a keyboard is, or letting Ako use her janky tank necromancer build that involved summoning enough familiars as bait that you would drop to (gasp) 30 FPS.

Plus you’ve wanted to get closer to Sayo. You don’t know why, but you find her determination to make herself a better person appealing. Is it envy? Is it love? You may never know.

...obviously it’s both and you’re kidding yourself.

...maybe it’s because you find her hot, too.

The crux of the matter, though, is that you have no idea how to talk to her. She did help you out that one time with the piano competition and the club activities, but you’re not sure how to pay back the favour. Maybe her sister? You talk to Hina on occasion, seeing as both of you organized a collab school festival once, but you quickly realize that it’d be wise to not throw a nuclear bomb into the glass house that is their relationship. Or maybe was? Sayo says they’ve been getting closer.

By now, it’s 1 AM, Ako is probably asleep, and you’re making bank at the ingame trade hall. You scroll through your phone for messages.

You notice that Sayo is online, and she’s playing NFO. Apparently she’s spent around an hour committing mass genocide on giant crabs. Effective way of getting XP midgame, though Sayo was a bit past that point. You make a mental note to tell her how to grind when you get the chance.

You briefly consider messaging her. You decide against it because she’s probably AFK, practicing guitar while leaving her character on auto. Seems like a her thing to do. You wouldn't want to disturb her.

You go back to farming gold. The clock turns. By 2 AM, you figure it’s about time to throw in the towel and go to bed.

**HikawaSayo: ** Shirokane-san, I need your help.  
 **HikawaSayo: ** How come these crabs aren’t giving me nearly as much XP?

Maybe not.

You have the feeling it’s going to be a long night.


	2. night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here's the pov shift. expect a lot of these

The last chord your guitar plays is one that reverberates throughout the studio, leaving a resolving silence in its wake.

Most people would call it a D major.

Not you, though. You’ve begun to look past music as a soulless arrangement of various pitches that were hard to play in sequence. Rather, you’d like to believe that music had something to it other than its technical side - a hidden

(maybe to you, you think, as thoughts of a certain novice vocalist cross your mind and you can’t help but feel jealous about how she seems to find the joy in music so easily)

sort of emotion behind it. Recently you’ve become more accustomed to finding your own style and tapping into this sort of thing. This has come with a bunch of side effects such as being more sociable and supportive, reconciling with your twin sister, smiling more often in general, and being more patient with others.

Oh, and baking cookies. You can’t forget about that, it’s your turn next meeting. While Lisa does make some great cookies, you figure it’s time for the master to become the student.

Yukina congratulates everyone on a job well done. You take this as your cue to get home. You look around the room. Rinko and Ako are talking about broken XP rates (you’ve got to catch up, the level gap between you and them is getting bigger), while Yukina seems be be subject to more friendly teasing.

What a nice scene. You kind of wish you were a bit closer to them.

You curtly say your goodbyes and exit the studio, navigating the concrete jungle that is Tokyo (but not really, since you have the path to your house memorised by heart)...

 

* * *

 

...and entering your house.

Hina is there to greet you, as usual. “Onee-chan, something really boppin’ happened today!” she says, with an energy so impactful it’s almost contagious. You greet her back, and so a conversation starts over dinner.

“I had a nice day at band practice too, I guess. Nothing too out of the ordinary.”

“That’s nice to hear! Did you know that Aya-chan didn’t know how to tie her shoes until she was in middle school? I mean she kind of sucks at everything she tries, no offense meant, but I find it really zappin’ how she managed to pull through in the end! Man, I wish I had that sort of work ethic.”

“Of course you’d need it. You’re the student council president.”

“Oh yeah, that’s true. Work has been pretty tough! Normally I get Tsugu-chin to handle most of the boring stuff, but there’s been so much recently and she got sick so I’ve had to do it all...”

The conversation normally leans towards Hina a lot, since you’ve only just begun to make peace with her, and aren’t so sure how to have an  actual conversation. You’ve been pretty content with just listening and following along.

Honestly, you’re pretty surprised about how she still finds it in her heart to be on good terms with you even after you shut her out for the majority of 5 years. That’s some work ethic right there.

Speaking of work ethic, you feel sorry for Tsugumi. Poor girl has had it rough, huh?

You finish your meal and head up to your room. Band practice? That wasn’t even intense. Not even a sweat. Right now, you monologue as you open the door, it is time

to grind.

You open NFO and bring out your books. You figured out around a month ago that you could multitask by studying while leaving your character on autoattack, and running into a bunch of durable enemies. You’ve been grateful that Rinko told you to play a warrior on the day you started. Bless that high natural defense.

Of course, while doing this, you don’t study halfheartedly. You’ve amassed a reputation of being a bit of a tryhard when it comes to tests, and for sure you aren’t going to keep the reputation without the results. You’ve loosened up a bit in the sense that you don’t  have to be number one at everything, but you still strive for excellence regardless.

Also some other kid in your class said that she could beat your score on this next test without breaking a sweat. It’s kind of personal now.

And so the grind begins.

 

* * *

 

It is now 2 AM (which is fine, it’s a friday night, you aren’t going to be late for class or anything), and you begin to realize that you aren’t leveling up as fast as you’ve hoped. These crabs aren’t doing much for you. Maybe you should ask someone for help.

Ako is definitely out of the question. While she says she can pull off “epic gamer all-nighters”, you know she’s a good, rule-abiding little sister at heart. She probably can’t even stay up past midnight without feeling guilty.

Lisa plays sometimes, but she’s definitely not at this level. You consider telling her to play more, but at this rate Roselia will turn into an MMO guild.

Yukina probably doesn’t even know what a keyboard is.

That leaves Rinko.

She’s a kind person at heart, so you know that she’d be willing to help. She also shares your habit of grinding NFO well into the witching hours. Maybe she rubbed off on you? You’re not entirely sure.

You also find her and her mannerisms kind of cute. Lowkey.

She’s online right now, so you guess it’s okay to ask. The client says she’s been at the trade hall for around four hours. Respectable. Maybe she’s trying to max out Alchemy or some other crafting skill.

You send a message (technically two)

 ** HikawaSayo:  ** Shirokane-san, I need your help.  
 **HikawaSayo: ** How come these crabs aren’t giving me nearly as much XP?

You wait for the inevitable reply.

 **rinrin: ** you’ve been progressing really quick lately hikawa-san  ♪ ( ´ ▽｀ )  
 **rinrin: ** want me to show you some higher level grinding spots tonight? i guess i could farm combat xp with you ( ﾟ ω ﾟ )

You gladly oblige. Maybe this is how you get closer to Roselia.


	3. dungeon crawling

After a few teleports and a lot of walking, you manage to make it to where Sayo is grinding. Her character diligently slashes away, tiny numbers popping into existence above her head every so often. Scattered on the ground are a bunch of junk drops - rusted blades, small piles of stone, and some inexpensive herbs that wouldn't fetch any decent price on the market. You briefly consider stashing away the herbs for your own grinding, having run out of crafting material a few minutes ago. While helping Sayo was technically XP waste, it was the good kind that didn't leave you wishing you were standing at the trade hall repeatedly buying and crafting to max out some skill, so you didn't mind much. Max level Alchemy would have to wait.

**rinrin:** you're only 15 levels below me now, i'm impressed (´• ω •`)  
**rinrin:** i was thinking of just showing you another grinding area, but maybe we could do the new dungeon together ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ  
**rinrin:** your level is probably high enough anyway!  
**HikawaSayo:** Oh, I guess we could run it.  
**HikawaSayo:** Is it the one you and Udagawa-san were talking about after practice?  
**rinrin:** Σ(°△°|||)︴  
**rinrin:** you were listening?  
  
Huh. You honestly weren't expecting Sayo to be this invested in your conversations. Or in NFO in general, really. You thought NFO was something she did occasionally, when she had free time

(does she? she somehow manages to handle several commitments and club activities at once without a sweat. you kind of admire her for that.)

but apparently she played it more often than she let on. Maybe you and Ako could discuss raid strats with her in the lounge.

**HikawaSayo:** Of course I was. I even read the patch notes as soon as I got home.  
**HikawaSayo:** There's a nice shield I can get as a 3% drop, but I'm not that great at queuing with randoms, and it's not like I can solo this dungeon at this level.  
**HikawaSayo:** So I decided to hold off on it until I got stronger.  
**rinrin:** it's ok!! if you want the shield i can help you grind for it  
**rinrin:** no big deal, i want to abuse the broken xp rates for as long as they're out (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

You kind of do mind, though. You've run this dungeon like twenty times this night alone (it was pretty short, not that complicated either. you can already hear the anguished cries of players who maxed combat level before this dungeon was released.), and you know it like the back of your hand. You're pretty sure you got the shield maybe one or two times, but your dungeon rewards were set to auto-sell since there wasn't really anything good for mages. That's a fact best conveniently left out, though.

Besides, it's Sayo. You wouldn't mind grinding with her for a change.

God you're hopeless.

**HikawaSayo:** Is that so?  
**HikawaSayo:**  Thank you, Shirokane-san.  
**HikawaSayo:**  Honestly, I've been considering getting Hina to play too so that I could do dungeons much easier.  
 **HikawaSayo:**  Sorry for the inconvenience, by the way.  
**rinrin:** no problem (´ ∀ ` *)

She doesn't need to be sorry, you say to yourself. Besides, it's nice to stay up and play NFO with her, for a change.

One last thing.

If you don't do this, you'll feel like you haven't progressed anywhere in the past year, or so you reason.

**rinrin:** um...  
**rinrin:** wanna do a voice call? ┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴  
**HikawaSayo:** I don't see why not.

Jackpot.

 

* * *

 

 

"Straightforward", as a term, was misleading for this dungeon. Sure, there was only one path to take, with loot clearly marked, so as to minimise the risk of getting sidetracked and dying, but the monsters and traps within packed a punch.

A really strong one with AOE damage, capable of deleting even the most tanky characters.

As such, the dungeon rewarded technical skill more than level, something that you respect. Only the most elite would have the rights to farm this dungeon. Dodging enemy attacks instead of sitting there and taking the hits was now an actual skill people would need to learn.

That is, until people figured out that you could join a queue packed to the brim and go through, since AOE damage worked based on distributing a pool of damage evenly across players. The more players in the strike zone, the less they'd get damaged individually.

You don't like joining queues like that though. You'd like to play with competent people, thank you very much, and while it feels nice and cozy to help a noob who's eager to learn game mechanics, you can't really do that if there's 31 of them and all of them show no interest in it. You'd also prefer doing things the hard way. You're a member of Roselia. Perfection is your middle name, or something like that. Yukina says that a lot, and you find it sort of cheesy but still motivating.

Oh yeah, and anxiety too, but you'd like to pretend that's not a thing you have. You're getting better.

Sayo seems to agree with you, immediately asking if you could run the dungeon with just the two of you.

"Could we not join those huge parties in queue? I'd rather go through the dungeon legitimately, and I, uh, don't want people taking my end-of-dungeon loot."

You're pretty sure that the loot tables are rolled once per person, so each person gets their own piece of loot at the end, but you decide not to bring that up.

"S-sure... I'd like to think I'm more than capable of DPS. Sorry if I can't bring you through, though..."  
"If we fail, it's on me too. You don't need to take the blame, Shirokane-san. I can tank whatever's in there, easy. Why else would I be playing a warrior?"  
"You're going to regret saying that."

A small smile creeps across your face. What a sweet summer child. You don't doubt that Sayo's determination is her best asset, but determination wouldn't mean anything against 100k damage per hit.

 

* * *

 

 

"Does this dungeon really only have one path to take? I don't run dungeons that often, but that's unusual." Sayo turns another corner, shield raised and blade at the ready. "There aren't any puzzles either."

You perform the vocal equivalent of a nod, and carry on behind her. Something's been off. You  _have_ seen monsters, but those ones weren't the cream of the crop. They were more like the residue mutant plants that get taken away to the incinerator. Your Gamer Sense™ tingles.

"Hikawa-san... I'd advise you n-not to take that corner that fast..."

Or so you say, exactly as Sayo rushes around the corner that fast. Working with 2 AM braincells is an adventure, and not even the most diligent people are exempt from it.

As you turn the corner to help, you are greeted with a Red Dragon and Sayo at 1 HP.

You make short work of the dragon. Grinding for the Dragonslayer perk two years ago was worth it, you muse.

"How did you survive that...?" you ask. You were familiar with the basic warrior skill tree, though you weren't versed in the specific perks it gave near the end.

"It's a passive you have the choice to unlock at around Warrior level 70. I can't be killed in one hit if my HP is above 50%, but at the cost of dealing half as much damage on all my physical attacks."

That explains why you haven't heard of it. Maybe you actually have, but you swear on your triple monitor setup that you have never seen anyone run that perk ever. It's too impractical to play with unless you're really patient, or you have a dedicated DPS partner. You silently put it in meme build tier.

Most people meme with Assassin, anyway. Some of the builds you've seen were probably made by people who could supplant Einstein's work on relativity, if their motivation was pointed in that direction. True creative geniuses.

Whatever your thoughts, you're glad that Sayo runs it. Revives cost either a lot of gold or a lot of materials, and you just used up the courtesy revive they give to mages with points in healing once per day on Ako.

You heal Sayo up and get going. Guess she _could_ tank whatever was in there.

 

* * *

 

 

You exit the dungeon.

You do this another 23 times, until Sayo gets her shield. You're one level closer to maxing out combat, while Sayo ascended beyond mortal limits and gained five levels.

It is now 3:30 AM, and your eyes are about to give up. You spend a few minutes with Sayo in peaceful silence.

You think you like this feeling, despite her not actually being there.

You tell Sayo that maybe you're going to go to bed. She says she should be doing that too.

"Good night, Shirokane-san."  
"Y-you too."

You can't take the fatigue and fall asleep, still connected to the voice call.

The last thing you hear before you fall asleep is a request.

Something about going to a cafe tomorrow.


	4. level farming

A familiar-looking mage in red robes walks towards you. You finish off the crab you're hitting, turn off autoattack, and turn towards her. She seems to have leveled up quite a bit since the last time you've played together, which was back when Ako wanted to complete that new secret quest.

 **rinrin:** you're only 15 levels below me now, i'm impressed (´• ω •`)  
**rinrin:** i was thinking of just showing you another grinding area, but maybe we could do the new dungeon together ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ  
**rinrin:** your level is probably high enough anyway!  
**HikawaSayo:** Oh, I guess we could run it.  
**HikawaSayo:** Is it the one you and Udagawa-san were talking about after practice?

She stops typing for a bit. You wonder if you surprised her. Past you normally wouldn't bother eavesdropping or showing curiosity towards stuff like, well, anything that wasn't the guitar. At least she's acknowledged the change. You are no longer Sayo Hikawa, Metronome of Sadness. For now, you are Sayo HIkawa, Level 78 Warrior, and you damn well better act like a level 78 Warrior.

 **rinrin:** Σ(°△°|||)︴  
**rinrin:** you were listening?

This is your chance! Now you can tell her how interested you've become. Maybe she'll find it easier to talk to you in person this way.

 **HikawaSayo:** Of course I was. I even read the patch notes as soon as I got home.  
**HikawaSayo:** There's a nice shield I can get as a 3% drop, but I'm not that great at queuing with randoms, and it's not like I can solo this dungeon at this level.  
**HikawaSayo:** So I decided to hold off on it until I got stronger.  
**rinrin:** it's ok!! if you want the shield i can help you grind for it  
**rinrin:** no big deal, i want to abuse the broken xp rates for as long as they're out (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

You really hope you aren't inconveniencing her. You rarely see her get annoyed, and she's only ever gotten mad once, during that one incident with the band where Ako got (understandably) upset and ran out of the studio. Seeing her even slightly upset pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel guilty. Rinko isn't the kind of person that deserves to be made angry, you feel. She's too kind for her own good.

 **HikawaSayo:** Is that so?  
**HikawaSayo:**  Thank you, Shirokane-san.  
**HikawaSayo:**  Honestly, I've been considering getting Hina to play too so that I could do dungeons much easier.  
**HikawaSayo:**  Sorry for the inconvenience, by the way.  
**rinrin:** no problem (´ ∀ ` *)

What a cinnamon roll.

By now, you'd ask her to join a voice call, but you know she isn't good at talking and you _really_ don't want to make her feel uncomfortable. You guess you're content with just using text for now. Maybe sometime in the future, if you ever got close enough together.

 **rinrin:** um...  
**rinrin:** wanna do a voice call? ┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴  
**HikawaSayo:** I don't see why not.

Sometimes life is just so wonderful.

 

* * *

 

 

You enter voice chat in an app described by Ako as "LINE for epic gamers." You aren't sure why exactly they use this over LINE, but their NFO guild (and by extension, yours) runs its base of operations here, so you've been using it more often than you thought you'd be. You use the light theme, much to Ako's chagrin.

Rinko brings you to the dungeon entrance, and immediately you can see massive groups of people packed together, forming parties. You guess this is what happens when a dungeon is labeled as the prime XP grinding spot.

You're honestly not that good at the game though, and you remain apprehensive at the thought of joining one of these parties with her. The only reason you're this high level is because of sheer grit and the ability to nolife the game until 3 AM. Your knowledge of game mechanics, like timing dodges instead of relying on your base dodge chance, among other things, is unfortunately almost nonexistent. The most you've learned is how to quick-sort your inventory.

And you are of the very firm belief that if your best isn't good enough, don't bother bringing it to the table.

Which leads you to ask Rinko if you both could duo queue. You try to think of an excuse that doesn't leave you looking like you doubt yourself that much. Contentment in your skill is something you really need to work on, you feel.

"Could we not join those huge parties in queue? I'd rather go through the dungeon legitimately, and I, uh, don't want people taking my end-of-dungeon loot."

You vaguely remember that that's not how the loot system for dungeons works, but you've already said it, so the best you can do now is improvise.

"S-sure... I'd like to think I'm more than capable of DPS. Sorry if I can't bring you through, though..."  
"If we fail, it's on me too. You don't need to take the blame, Shirokane-san. I can tank whatever's in there, easy. Why else would I be playing a warrior?"  
"You're going to regret saying that."

She didn't seem to notice your small mistake, and if she did, she was kind enough not to bring it up. You thank her silently, but not to her face. And anyway, what you just said was a truth this time. You might not be confident in your skills, but if there's one thing you're good at, it's being a meatshield.

Oh man, she's going to be impressed.

 

* * *

 

 

You knew the dungeon was simple, but you didn't know its layout was the equivalent of a 200 yen horror house.

"Does this dungeon really only have one path to take? I don't run dungeons that often, but that's unusual." Sayo turns another corner, shield raised and blade at the ready. "There aren't any puzzles either."

Rinko does the equivalent of a nod through the microphone. "Mhm." is such a powerful statement.

You haven't seen much strong monsters, and the few monsters that you have seen have been melted effortlessly by Rinko's basic attacks. You decide to pick up the pace.

"Hikawa-san... I'd advise you n-not to take that corner that fast..."

Too late.

You come face-to-face with a Red Dragon. It doesn't seem to like you. It lunges, and it immediately takes most

(but not all)

of your health away.

You're left with 1 HP, and Rinko comes around the corner in time. She deletes it from existence using a pretty impressive spell. You thought it was impressive at first, anyway, until she told you that it was only one of the level 50 spells, and the main reason she dealt that much damage was because she had some perk that dealt 5x damage to dragons. You consider asking her how to get it one day.

"How did you survive that...?" she asks. You take this as an opportunity to show off a little. You guess it doesn't hurt to be a little confident once in a while.

"It's a passive you have the choice to unlock at around Warrior level 70. I can't be killed in one hit if my HP is above 50%, but at the cost of dealing half as much damage on all my physical attacks."

You did your research on this skill when you got the choice to unlock it, and it turns out most people disregard it in favour of making a more balanced Warrior. You guess you don't really have the capability to dish out that much damage, but you're fine with that. You have enough determination to get through most things, and with a build as tanky as this, the only thing separating you from your goal is time. That, and really high regeneration rates. You still haven't completed that quest with the changeling yet solely because your damage output isn't high enough. Maybe you should ask Rinko for help with that too.

Rinko heals you up. For the rest of the dungeon crawl, she sounds more lively than usual. You almost think she sounds _impressed_.

Pride swells inside you for a moment, and you relish the feeling for the small moment it lasts.

 

* * *

 

 

It is now your 24th time completing this dungeon. It's 3:30 AM now, but you got the shield. It was worth it.

Rinko yawns. She seems like she's about to pass out any second now.

She tells you she's going to bed. You tell her you should probably do that too.

"Good night, Shirokane-san."  
"Y-you too."

Rinko stops talking, but doesn't disconnect from the call. You hear her softly breathing into her mic soon afterwards.

You think it's kind of cute. Hopefully she's not fully asleep yet. There's one more thing you want to tell her.

"Shirokane-san. Hazawa Coffee is releasing brand new menu items tomorrow. Maybe you'd like to come with me?"

You hope the message reaches her. Her slow, rhythmic breath calms you, and soon enough, you too fall asleep, still connected to the call.


	5. small talk

By the time you wake up, it's almost noon. Seems like you fell asleep playing video games again. You lean back into your chair and notice that you've been in a voice call for around ten hours.

With Sayo.

You blush a little, but try to rationalize soon after. There's no way she would stay in voice willingly, right? She said she would go to bed. Must have been a mistake on her end - her forgetting to disconnect was totally plausible. You don't discredit the idea that sleeping together in voice would be cute, though.

Hypothetically.

You make sure to actually disconnect from voice this time and grab yourself breakfast. Not breakfast in the traditional sense, but a glass of hot milk. You don't think eating breakfast this late would be worth it anymore. You're not going to skip out on the milk, though. You live for the stuff. Ako has said on more than one occasion that milk probably flows through your veins.

You get back into your Gamer Chair™ to enjoy your glass. You kick back, relax, and enjoy the weekend. You're glad that you don't have anything pressing to attend to; school paperwork was done and accounted for, homework wasn't assigned this weekend, and oh shit you realize you have band practice in an hour. You down your milk like you would an HP potion at 10% health, and get into the shower. You spend exactly as much time as you need to in there. No time for idle showerthoughts, you have a studio to rush to. In hindsight, it's very fortunate that you live relatively close to CiRCLE, otherwise you would have to deal with the horrors of (gasp) public transport.

You get dressed in your usual outfit, a white long-sleeved blouse with a long, flowing black skirt. It's soft and comfortable and you love it. You run out the door (but not before telling your parents that you love them and you're going outside for band practice you'll be back by 6 you promise), and do a brisk walk all the way to CiRCLE. You were never one for running. Or jogging, for that matter. When you were a kid you dreaded physical aptitude exams. You still kind of do. You manage to make it to the shopping district before you get a notification. Looks like the group chat has been pretty active since you made it here.

 **nekolover2000:** Everyone, practice has been cancelled today  
**nekolover2000:** I ran into some unforeseen matters  
**nekolover2000:** Sorry for the inconvenience  
**lisachi☆:** soooo guys apparently a new cat cafe opened!!!  
**lisachi☆:** me and yukina are going there today ☆

(you wonder why yukina hasn't changed her username yet. she said she changed it as "part of a dare", but maybe she's grown attached.)

 **nekolover2000:** Lies and slander  
**nekolover2000:** I wouldn't put something such as a cat cafe above our music  
[lisachi☆ has sent a photo to  _Professional Band Group Chat_ ]  
**nekolover2000:** I can't believe I'd be betrayed like this  
**nekolover2000:** You are tearing me apart, Lisa

(you feel like you've heard that exact same sentence somewhere before. must be a case of deja vu.)

 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** lmfaoooooo get exposed  
**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** y is the gc name still like this btw im not sure this counts as professional  
[xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxxhas been muted by nekolover2000 for 10 minutes.]  
[xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx has been unmuted by HikawaSayo.]  
**HikawaSayo:** As much as I hate to say this, Udagawa-san is right. If we are to succeed as a band, we should stop pretending to be serious and professional all the time.  
**HikawaSayo:** All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  
**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** holy shit sayo-san are u possessed  
**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** whos jack btw  
**HikawaSayo:** I might regret unmuting you.  
**HikawaSayo:** Also, this is why I tell you to pay attention in class.

(seems like the gang's all here.)

 **rinrin:** hey everyone, what's going on here? (*・ω・)ﾉ  
**rinrin:** oh  
**rinrin:** it's fine, maybe the rest of us could just hang out somewhere instead for today ╰(▔∀▔)╯  
**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** >leaving the house on time to actually get to the studio  
**HikawaSayo:** Udagawa-san...  
**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** ok but legit tho my homie ur probably like  
**xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** the only one at circle rn  
**HikawaSayo:** Anyway.  
**HikawaSayo:** Shirokane-san, please check your DMs in a moment. There's something I said last night that I'm not sure you got to hear.  
**lisachi☆:** :o  
**lisachi☆:** juicyyyy  
**rinrin:** oh yeah sure we can take this to dms  
**rinrin:** i think i have a vague idea of what you're talking about  
**rinrin:** |･ω･)  
  
You decide to check out your DMs, just like Sayo suggested.

 **HikawaSayo:** So, I was meaning for this to happen after band practice, maybe for dinner.  
**HikawaSayo:** But now that we're free for today, do you want to have lunch at Hazawa Cafe? There are new specials on the menu, and Hazawa-san said I was free to try them any time I wanted.  
**rinrin:** i think i'd like that!  
**rinrin:** i didn't eat an actual breakfast today so i kind of need the food too (￣﹃￣)  
**HikawaSayo:** Oh, that doesn't sound good.  
**HikawaSayo:** What time did you wake up at?  
**rinrin:**  uh  
**rinrin:**  11  
**HikawaSayo:**...I can't say I didn't do the same.  
**rinrin:**  anyway i'm already at the shopping district so we can just meet up here (´• ω •`)  
**rinrin:** see you in a bit!  
  
Maybe you should send one more thing. Just to clear things up.  
  
**rinrin:** btw  
**rinrin:** you were still connected to voice when i woke up. did you forget to shut down your pc too? ^^  
**rinrin:** fatigue gets the best of everyone, i guess _(:3 」∠)_  
**HikawaSayo:** uh  
**HikawaSayo:** Yeah, it was an accident. I'll be more careful next time.  
**HikawaSayo:** Thank you, Shirokane-san.

 

* * *

 

 

You swing open the doors of Hazawa Cafe. Tsugumi is there to greet you, as usual, cheery and hardworking as ever.

She comes up to you and smiles. "Hello, Shirokane-san! Table for one?" You shake your head politely and reply that no, you were waiting for someone, and you would prefer if you were seated away from the crowds, if possible, though any table for two was fine. She seems interested in your mystery guest.

"U-um... I'm waiting for Hikawa-san..."  
"HIna-senpai? Do you guys have another inter-school event planned? The cross-school culture festival was really fun! Kudos to the both of you for pulling it off."  
"No, not her... It's Sayo. I think you've met her before... she's the more serious one with long hair who's cute when she's flustered."  
"Yeah, I have met her! ...wait, what was that last one?"  
"N-nothing!"

You quickly ask to be brought to your table. You sit down, thank Tsugumi, and idly browse through your phone, deciding to open up  _BooM Wish! Girl's Group Gathering_ to pass the time. There's still a bunch of songs that you haven't FCed yet. Maybe you'll get to them now.

After the fifth choke in a row, you decide to look outside the window to pass time instead.  _Six Trillion Years and Overnight Story_ was a pretty brutal chart, and even though you can basically AP it for the most part, you can't seem to hit the last 5 notes properly for some reason. Maybe you're just mindblocked and all you need to do is take a break, you muse.

The entrance swings open once again, and you catch an eyeful of Sayo's unmistakable turquoise hair. She talks to Tsugumi for a while, and the shorter girl leads her to your table. She takes her seat and Tsugumi hands her a menu.

Sayo starts to speak. "Sorry to keep you waiting."  
  
"It's alright," you reply. "Can you... recommend anything from the specials menu? I'll just... get the same thing you're having."

"I was thinking of getting these bite-sized hexagonal sandwiches. We can get two servings and split if you want, Shiro-" Sayo cuts off halfway, uncharacteristically.

"H-hikawa-san? Is everything alright?"  
"Um. Is it okay if I call you by your first name from now on? I've been meaning to get closer to the rest of Roselia, and I thought that one way I could do that was to be less strict and formal around you all. It just happens that it's easier to call you by your first name than the others. Maybe it's because I call you Rinrin when with our other guildmates."  
"That's fine... I actually think I prefer that."

"Alright. Thank you, Shi-" You guess she's still getting used to actually being on a first-name basis with someone. "Rinko-san."

"No problem, S-sayo-san." Both of you are on a first name basis now, you think. Calling her this should be fine. But just in case...

"...if calling you that is fine with you..."

Sayo smiles, albeit very slightly. You almost don't notice.

"Of course it would be."

 

* * *

 

The sandwiches arrive, and before Sayo can even blink, you eat three of them. This leaves eleven sandwiches among the both of you. Sayo stares at you in a mixture of shock and surprise.

"I didn't know you could eat that fast. If you're really that hungry, I can give you a few from my share."

You freeze like a deer in headlights, or perhaps like something less cliche. "N-no, it's perfectly fine, you don't need to give me your share..."

"But I insist."  
"No, really! It's fine..."  
"Are you sure?"

There's something about Sayo's offer that you can't refuse. You reluctantly take one more sandwich from Sayo's plate, and eat it.

That makes ten.

"Rinko-san," Sayo says after she eats a sandwich. Nine. "you play a lot of games, yes?"

Odd question, but you're more than happy to discuss video games with basically anyone interested. "Y-yeah! If I wasn't part of Roselia, you would probably know me for that." You laugh in self-deprecation, as you take more sandwiches off the table. "If you'd know about me at all..."

"I see. Do you have any recommendations? Me and Hina are planning to get a new console soon, and since she plays mainly mobile games and I play NFO, we're not really well-versed in titles."  
"Oh... that's nice. I-I mean the fact that you're getting a new console, of course!"

Are you overthinking this? You probably are. Anyway, you continue.

"What kind of console is it...?"  
"An Xbox. The latest version."  
"Alright. In that case, you should probably get..."

A lengthy conversation follows in which you talk very passionately about releases you're hyped about, and Sayo nods in approval trying not to get overwhelmed by the torrent of words from your mouth. There are now seven sandwiches on the table. You continue talking about how you're very glad that Minecraft has been making a revival recently, though if she were to get it, she should probably just buy it on the PC so the NFO squad could play it together. Six sandwiches remain. Sayo says that she's been thinking of getting Minecraft too. Hina apparently already bought an account ironically about two years ago. You say that's great, does she have two PCs at home or? She says that Hina has a laptop of her own, but she borrows your PC sometimes. You pitch the idea of teaching Hina how to play NFO. She says maybe tonight you both could do that, with Ako in the group. Three sandwiches remain. Sayo says that this lunch has been fun so far, and that maybe both of you should do this again some time. Or maybe you could just walk around the mall, go to the arcade, or just plain hang out. You blush and say yes that would be a good idea, we should really do that, and that you're glad she's having fun. One sandwich remains.

Sayo takes it. You let it happen because frankly, you feel kind of bad for taking that one sandwich from her, even though she did offer.

That was a fun conversation. You haven't enjoyed talking for that long since your first conversation with Ako. It's always nice to find someone new who shares an interest in your hobbies. Sayo's also a pretty good listener, and she makes you feel safe when talking. You really want to do this again.

"S-sayo-san..."  
"Hm?"  
"W-would you..." You falter, but find the courage in you to keep going.

"Would you want to go out with me next week? It doesn't need to be anything special, walking around the mall is fine..."

You blush deep red and start breathing faster. Waiting for her response makes you kind of anxious, especially since it took you all your courage to say that.

Sayo flashes you a small grin. Your breathing returns to normal.

"I think I'd like that, Rinko-san."


	6. idle conversation

You wake up at 11:15. Unsurprisingly, you still find yourself at your desk after a long night of NFO. You are still in the voice call.

Rinko, however, is not.

Yikes. She must have woken up before you, which means she definitely saw you still in voice. Hopefully you can play this off as an accident the next time you talk.

Breakfast isn't really a priority for you. You are an efficient person in all meanings of the word, and for emergencies like this, you keep energy wafers in your backpack. You decide to snack on them when you walk to CiRCLE for band practice.

You take a bath and get dressed in exactly 10 minutes. No time to waste here. You exit the front door (but not before saying goodbye to Hina and promising to get her fries when you come back home), and run to the nearest train station. Walking around everywhere with a guitar on your back has done wonders to your stamina. Despite it being lunchtime on a Saturday, the station seems to be more empty than usual. You consider that a stroke of good luck. You double-check the contents of your bag before boarding. An umbrella? Check. Energy wafers? Check. Spare change of clothes? Check. Paper bag with a note on it that you're sure wasn't there before? Check.

Wait a second.

You read the note.

_Onee-chan, you were out cold this morning so I went and bought you a riceball from the convenience store to eat! You should really stop eating those energy wafers in a pinch, they're dry and don't taste zappin' at all._

_-Hina_

You smile. What a good sister.

Guess you have an actual breakfast now. You board the train and head to CiRCLE.

 

* * *

 

 

You arrive at CiRCLE at 11:45. To you, this counts as "barely being early for practice". You're normally at the studio an hour before everyone else, if possible. Since nobody is here, you decide to sit down at the cafe and savor your riceball. Might as well check the group chat while you're at it. Seems like they're having a lively conversation in there.

 **nekolover2000:** Everyone, practice has been cancelled today  
 **nekolover2000:** I ran into some unforeseen matters  
 **nekolover2000:** Sorry for the inconvenience

Oh god.

 **li** **sachi☆:** soooo guys apparently a new cat cafe opened!!!  
 **lisachi☆:** me and yukina are going there today ☆

_Oh god._

**nekolover2000:** Lies and slander  
 **nekolover2000:** I wouldn't put something such as a cat cafe above our music  
[lisachi☆ has sent a photo to Professional Band Group Chat]  
 **nekolover2000:** I can't believe I'd be betrayed like this  
 **nekolover2000:** You are tearing me apart, Lisa

Well, there are worse things. You feel like you've heard that line before somewhere, though.

 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** lmfaoooooo get exposed  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** y is the gc name still like this btw im not sure this counts as professional  
[xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxxhas been muted by nekolover2000 for 10 minutes.]

While it's true that Ako usually doesn't contribute to these discussions whatsoever, you can't stand to see a fellow gamer being silenced.

[xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx has been unmuted by HikawaSayo.]

Besides, she makes these conversations more interesting somehow.

 **HikawaSayo:** As much as I hate to say this, Udagawa-san is right. If we are to succeed as a band, we should stop pretending to be serious and professional all the time.  
 **HikawaSayo:** All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** holy shit sayo-san are u possessed  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** whos jack btw  
 **HikawaSayo:** I might regret unmuting you.  
 **HikawaSayo:** Also, this is why I tell you to pay attention in class.

Seems like mostly everyone is here. Where's Rinko?

 **rinrin:** hey everyone, what's going on here? (*・ω・)ﾉ

You'd say speak of the devil, but Rinko is too nice for you to call her one. Speak of the angel?

**rinrin:** oh  
 **rinrin:** it's fine, maybe the rest of us could just hang out somewhere instead for today ╰(▔∀▔)╯  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** >leaving the house on time to actually get to the studio  
 **HikawaSayo:** Udagawa-san...  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** ok but legit tho my homie ur probably like  
 **xxFaLlEn_AnGeLxx:** the only one at circle rn

 _ Gasp. _  You guess this is how you'll be remembered when the band disbands (god no).

Anyway, now that you guess you're free for the day, you might as well put that plan you proposed last night into action.

**HikawaSayo:** Anyway.  
 **HikawaSayo:** Shirokane-san, please check your DMs in a moment. There's something I said last night that I'm not sure you got to hear.  
 **lisachi☆:** :o  
 **lisachi☆:** juicyyyy  
 **rinrin:** oh yeah sure we can take this to dms  
 **rinrin:** i think i have a vague idea of what you're talking about  
 **rinrin:** |･ω･)

You switch to DMs.

**HikawaSayo:** So, I was meaning for this to happen after band practice, maybe for dinner.  
 **HikawaSayo:** But now that we're free for today, do you want to have lunch at Hazawa Cafe? There are new specials on the menu, and Hazawa-san said I was free to try them any time I wanted.  
 **rinrin:** i think i'd like that!  
 **rinrin:**  i didn't eat an actual breakfast today so i kind of need the food too (￣﹃￣)  
 **HikawaSayo:** Oh, that doesn't sound good.  
 **HikawaSayo:** What time did you wake up at?  
 **rinrin:**  uh  
 **rinrin:**  11  
 **HikawaSayo:**...I can't say I didn't do the same.  
 **rinrin:**  anyway i'm already at the shopping district so we can just meet up here (´• ω •`)  
 **rinrin:** see you in a bit!

Nice. You decide to walk over to the shopping district to meet up with her. Your phone buzzes as you begin to walk.

**rinrin:** btw  
 **rinrin:** you were still connected to voice when i woke up. did you forget to shut down your pc too? ^^  
 **rinrin:** fatigue gets the best of everyone, i guess _(:3 」∠)_

oh god she actually noticed play it off play it off

**HikawaSayo:** uh

You lose your composure just enough to forget to use perfect syntax for a moment.

 **HikawaSayo:** Yeah, it was an accident. I'll be more careful next time.  
 **HikawaSayo:** Thank you, Shirokane-san.

That was a close call. You carry on, and board another train towards the shopping district. Don't wanna be late.

 

* * *

 

 

You open the doors of Hazawa Cafe and look for RInko. Tsugumi greets you, and shows you where she's seated.

"Sayo-san! Rinko-san told me you'd be coming."  
"That's nice. Where's she seated?"  
"Over there! Are you guys here to try out the specials menu?"

Well, that was the pretense, but really you just want to spend time with her.

"Yes. Do you have any recommendations, Hazawa-san?"  
"I do! You should try these ones out. They're easy to eat, and tasty too!"

Tsugumi points to an assortment of bite-sized hexagonal sandwiches on the menu. She's right, they do look tasty. You consider ordering this if Rinko's fine with it.

"I see. Thank you, Hazawa-san."  
"Any time! No problem, Sayo-san."

Tsugumi shows you to your table. Rinko waves at you meekly and you sit down.

You immediately begin to apologize, in standard behaviour for someone like you. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's alright," she replies. "Can you... recommend anything from the specials menu? I'll just... get the same thing you're having."

"I was thinking of getting these bite-sized hexagonal sandwiches. We can get two servings and split if you want, Shiro-" Wait a second.

You've been classmates ever since you entered high school. You've also been in the same band for a year. Why are you still so formal with her?

Maybe you should start calling her Rinko instead. You've been getting closer to her, after all, and you think this could lead you two in the direction of becoming closer friends. Maybe, though you don't dare to hope, even in the direction of being

more than that.

(though you think the odds are pretty low, to be honest)

"H-hikawa-san? Is everything alright?"  
"Um. Is it okay if I call you by your first name from now on? I've been meaning to get closer to the rest of Roselia, and I thought that one way I could do that was to be less strict and formal around you all. It just happens that it's easier to call you by your first name than the others. Maybe it's because I call you Rinrin when with our other guildmates."  
"That's fine... I actually think I prefer that."

You breathe an inward sigh of relief, and at the same time you feel closer to her already.

"Alright. Thank you, Shi-" Whoops. Old habits die hard. "Rinko-san."

"No problem, S-sayo-san," she replies. "...if calling you that is fine with you..."

It's beyond just "fine", you think to yourself. Though on the outside you only grin slightly, you feel like you're over the moon.

"Of course it would be."

 

* * *

 

 

The sandwiches arrive, and Rinko immediately goes for three of them. This leaves eleven sandwiches among the both of you. You are both amazed and terrified.

"I didn't know you could eat that fast. If you're really that hungry, I can give you a few from my share."

You ate the riceball anyway, so you're not famished or anything.

Rinko, about to grab another sandwich, stops in her tracks. "N-no, it's perfectly fine, you don't need to give me your share..."

"But I insist."  
"No, really! It's fine..."  
"Are you sure?"

Rinko thinks about it for a minute and hesitantly accepts. She takes a sandwich from your plate and eats it with the speed of a character consuming a potion.

And then there were ten.

Gotta keep the conversation going somehow, you guess.

"Rinko-san," you say, grabbing a sandwich and popping it into your mouth. Nine. "you play a lot of games, yes?"

Rinko's eyes widen in slight excitement. "Y-yeah! If I wasn't part of Roselia, you would probably know me for that." She laughs a bit, eyes averted to the side. "If you'd know about me at all..."

"I see. Do you have any recommendations? Me and Hina are planning to get a new console soon, and since she plays mainly mobile games and I play NFO, we're not really well-versed in titles."  
"Oh... that's nice."

Rinko seems to hesitate a bit, and backpedal.

"I-I mean the fact that you're getting a new console, of course!"

She recovers her nerves.

"What kind of console is it...?"  
"An Xbox. The latest version."  
"Alright. In that case, you should probably get..."

You are roped into a lengthy conversation about video game titles and how this game wasn't deserving of Game of the Year 2018, or how this other game is going to change the industry when it comes out, or RInko's frustration with the game balance in some new upstart MMO. You nod in approval. She's really cute when she gets this passionate about things, you think. Seven sandwiches are now on the table. She begins talking about how she's been very glad that Minecraft is becoming popular again. She recommends that you get it on the PC, so you, Ako, and her could play together. There are now six sandwiches. You've actually been thinking about getting Minecraft ever since Hina got it for the memes two years ago, though you wouldn't admit it to yourself back then, so you bring those facts to the table. She says that's great, do you have two PCs at home? You say that Hina uses a laptop, but she borrows your PC sometimes. Speaking of Hina, she says, you should teach her how to play NFO. Having more party members would be fun. You say maybe tonight, the existing "NFO squad" (as Ako likes to say) could do that. Three sandwiches remain. You say that this lunch has been fun so far, and that maybe both of you should do this again sometime. Go on a date in general, that is, though you don't use those exact words. Rinko blushes and says yes, that'd be a good idea, and that she'd be down to doing whatever. She hastily adds that she's glad you're having fun.

One sandwich remains. You waste no time in grabbing it. Rinko doesn't seem to mind.

You're not a very conversational person - whenever you talked to band members last year, around 70% was either about band practice or berating Ako for messing around. You're glad you were able to have a casual conversation about stuff that wasn't music for once of this length.

Rinko seems to be fidgeting in her seat. You grow a bit concerned, and lean in just a bit closer.

"S-sayo-san..."  
"Hm?"  
"W-would you..." She seems to be tripping on her words a bit. You can't blame her, seems like she has something personal to say.

"Would you want to go out with me next week? It doesn't need to be anything special, walking around the mall is fine..."

She blushes deep red and begins to panic. You nonverbally reassure her that everything was fine, there's no need to worry. She smiles back and her breathing returns to normal.

"I think I'd like that, Rinko-san."


	7. video games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am BACK
> 
> stay indoors and dont get sick

There was a certain charm to waking up at eight in the morning on a weekend, rather than sleeping in. You could be productive and actually do something with the extra time that not sleeping in has afforded you!

That is, if you actually _had_ something to do at eight in the morning. For you, the best thing to do at eight in the morning was to fuss over the details of your weekend date with Sayo. Was it a date? You weren't sure. What you _were_ sure of was that you had no clue what you were supposed to do with her besides walk around the mall for a day.  
  
Well, whatever. She was a meticulous person. She'd have a plan.

And if she didn't?

...you're just going to put that thought back into the hole it came from.

It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and on days like this, people like you would normally be playing NFO.

You think this is a nice change of pace regardless.

You go on down to the kitchen. You're the first one awake, it seems - the Shirokane family has always loved to sleep in. It's almost like you're violating a sacred family tradition. After grabbing yourself a meal of some cereal and a glass of Gamer Milk (with free NFO promo code on the back of the carton), you go back upstairs.

It's not like you're in a rush, anyway. You set the time of the meetup at 11 AM, so there's still lots of prep time for you to use.  
  
This leaves you with two choices. You could turn your PC on and play with the keyboard, or play the keyboard. Or, well, the piano. You know the difference. You know the difference won't stop you from making bad puns.  
  
You decide to use the keyboard. The clicky one that has RGB light support. NFO is on maintenance right now, so you reckon the next best thing you can do is check your feed.

The first post you see is something CHU² has written. Something something RAS will definitely make it to the Budokan something something. Initially you were apprehensive about, as Ako described her, the "sassy lost child", but once you can get past all the (possibly not empty?) threats, you actually find her kind of endearing. Something about all the misplaced motivation. You like to imagine her as a small closet gremlin that leaves her domain to oversee band practice and scream "PAREO WHERE ARE THE FROOT LOOPS".  
  
Maybe not? If she could run a band like RAS, along with all the advertising, she was probably much more competent than that.  
  
You scroll lower. Hina has posted a few more cursed images. Following her has made your feed singlehandedly turn into social Russian roulette. There are pictures of her putting socks in milk while wearing the socks. There are pictures of her playing the violin like a guitar. (Where did she even get the violin?) There are pictures of her sleeping while having her eyes open. There are-

You are in deep waters now.

It might be a good idea to scroll lower.

 

* * *

 

It is now 10 AM, and you have done nothing productive. A few minutes ago, Sayo told you that she'd be getting ready and was about to leave, as she was wont to do, but you decided to reply with "alright gonna be ready gimme a few" and go straight back to not getting ready whatsoever. Well, there was probably time, right?

Or so you thought. It has occurred to you that going outside without showering and getting dressed was not a viable option if you wanted to leave a positive impression on someone you had the hots for. Resigned, you stop looking at cool videos of real things that could totally be part of an RPG (NFO devs _please_ ) and take a shower.

You hold the world record for the showering any% speedrun category. Ako has witnessed this - over voice call you'd often go like "be right back Ako-chan I'll go take a shower" and be back in around two minutes. Regardless, it takes you fifteen minutes to get ready. You had to make sure. Just in case.

As you think about what you should wear, it comes to mind that you don't really have time to think about luxuries like clothes. Maybe you should have gotten up earlier. You put on a comfy sweater and joggers and pray Sayo will understand.

You grab a bag and decide to book it to the station. Seems like your mom is awake. You customarily announce that you're leaving, and she a) wishes you a safe trip and b) tells you to go for it.  
  
You'd like to think you're capable of the latter. You'd _like_ to think.

 

* * *

 

Public transport was, is, and will always be a pain. You pray every waking hour that someone will invent teleport pads and find a way to make them feasible for transport. You're dead set on this. You've already thought about the philosophical repercussions.  _Oh, what if people died and were just remade every time they were teleported?_ You did not care. Anything is worth sacrificing to skip the metro.

You hop on a train to Akihabara (It has all the cool arcades. You had to go. Sayo _must_ know how good you are at arcade rhythm games.) and begin to overthink. Were people staring? Did you remember to shower? Do you look like you haven't left your room in two weeks? (Under normal circumstances you probably would have. Roselia has made life far from normal.) You bear with it until you reach your stop.

Exiting the train is nothing short of relieving. You quickly make your way to a McDonalds that you and Sayo agreed to meet up and have lunch together at. Was it cheap and tacky for a first date? Yes. Were both of you incredibly broke? Hell yes. There were better things to spend money on, like custom fire mage weapon models and .pngs of cute anime girls. That was high culture, and you knew it. Forget fancy stuff like foie gras or whatever.

It comes to mind that you really needed a job. Maybe being a librarian or a bookstore owner would be cool. The atmosphere was chill enough to not die to the cruel clutches of customer service.

It is now 11 AM flat. Sayo is uncharacteristically not present. Normally she'd be here at 9 AM or something.

You don't want to, like, actually interact with people or anything, so you just hang out awkwardly outside the McDonalds for the time being.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a turquoise blur. The blur stops in front of you and wipes her brow.

"Apologies for being late. You must have been waiting long."

You check your watch.

11:01 AM. Twenty-six seconds after, to be precise.

"N-no, it's fine, really, I just got here, and you're only one minute late anyway... I don't think you could even call that being late..."

The two of you mutually stare at each other with a kind of blank look in your eyes. Passersby would call this romantic. You would call this not knowing how to continue the conversation.

You decide to step up. Time for some real alpha moves here.

"S-sayo-san... can you, um... help me order food...? I'm not really good at... like... y'know... talking to the guys at the counter..."

Yeah. _Real alpha moves_.

"Oh? I don't mind at all, Rinko-san. I can pay for the meal, if needed. Regardless, shall we go in?"

Enter the restaurant you do. After negotiating with Sayo about who pays for what (no, Sayo-san. _I_ ordered the cheeseburger. _I_ should pay for it. Understand? Unless I'm being too imposing...) you decide to order takeout and walk around in the interest of saving time. A pragmatic decision (and also, seeing Sayo walk around putting fries in her mouth like a vacuum cleaner is adorable).

"I don't often frequent this area. Where do you think would be best to go first?"

You also don't often frequent this area. You don't often frequent _many_ areas. You don't need her to know that.

"U-um... I heard there was an arcade around this way... We should try some games there. Like, after we eat."

Sayo is already done eating. She has a stomach for junk food. Whoa.

"Yes, that sounds good. I haven't been to an arcade ever since Hina convinced my parents to go to one in grade school. A lot of tickets were won. We took home a fair amount of prizes."

"Oh... that's cool! I usually hang out with Ako-chan at arcades, but I prefer gaming at home... that's not to say I don't like arcades, though."

A thought comes to your head.

"Sayo-san... do you remember which prizes you got?"

Sayo smirks.

"How do you think I got into the guitar?"

 

* * *

 

As you chat and walk into the arcade (so they _do_ offer guitars. Kind of low quality though. Sayo assures you she got a better one a week after her parents realised she was getting into it.) you find that you both kind of did the clichéd romcom anime thing where you subconsciously hold each others' hands. You both react by _also_ doing the other clichéd romcom anime thing where you let go and blush.

There has to be another way to advance the scenario.

You (and by you, you mean Sayo) head to the counter and buy some tokens for the both of you. You (and by you, you mean yourself this time) point out a fun-looking game where you try stacking virtual blocks on top of each other.

You try at first. You get a stress ball.

Sayo tries next. She fails miserably.

As you ready yourself to console her, something clicks in her head.

"Wait. Rinko-san. Please let me try once more. I think I've figured the game out."

She tries again. Normally this would be the moment in a series where a cut happens to add suspense, but sadly real life doesn't work like that. Sayo stacks the blocks to the top, albeit messily. She wins. You question what you see for a second. Are you going on a date with Hina, of all people? Are all Hikawas just this talented?

A cute purple mug plushie falls into the reward chute.

Sayo picks it up and hands it to you.

"Rinko-san, I think you would like this. I think you have a similar type of mug at home."

You do. Well, yours doesn't have a face, but you get the point. The gesture is endearing.

"Thank you, Sayo-san. I'll get something for you, I promise!"

Your eyes scan the arcade for something Sayo might like. Instead you find the game of gods. Were a certain dark lord here, she'd say that it was "casting aside the wheel of fortune and attacking your nemesis through fate."

Were a certain dark lord's sister here, she'd call it "air hockey".

Sayo seems to have taken an interest to air hockey. You have also taken an interest to air hockey.

Something in you awakens. It's either your competitive spirit or the sugar from the iced tea you drank a while ago.

"Sayo-san, do you maybe... want to play air hockey with me?"

"Rinko-san, I was about to ask the same thing."

Sayo pauses for a while to think of something cool to say. Or to reconsider. It's probably the former.

"Are you... wait. Please give me a second... Are you prepared to give it your all? As a member of Roselia, I won't lose."

You hold yourself back from pointing out that you are _also_ a member of Roselia. You can let her be all smug and have her moment now, but whether or not she was girlfriend material, you were ready to school her in the only way a gamer could.


End file.
